Apparatus for forming thorn-like projections

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on a workpiece surface wherein biting cutters are mounted on a swingable surface and brought into biting engagement with said surface upon each swinging movement of the arm. The projection formed workpiece surface may be thereafter used for casting another metal thereon.

United States Patent Uebayashi et al.

[451 Jan. 28, 1975 APPARATUS FOR FORMING THORN-LIKE PROJECTIONSinventors: Yoshitaka Uebayashi; Koji Tashiro;

Toshifumi Anayama, all of Hiroshima, Japan Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.,Hiroshima-ken, Japan Filed: Apr. 9, 1974 Appl. No.: 459,330

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 10, 1973 Japan 48-40581 [1.5. CI72/325, 72/324, 83/1 Int. Cl 821d 31/02 Field of Search 72/324, 325,332, 703;

156/6; 117/47 R, 49, 50; 83/1, 4, 5,6,11; 204/200, 203, 207, 209, 215,217, 226, DIG. 10; 29/5274, 78

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,114,072 4/1938 Cleveland29/121 2,480,711 8/1949 Calton .1 29/5274 2,953,043 9/1960 Trchitsch72/324 3,119,289 1/1964 Bach 72/703 3,742,753 7/1973 Biesenbach 72/3403,821,347 6/1974 Katoh 83/1 Primary Examiner-C. W. Lanham AssistantExaminerJames R. Duzan Attorney, Agent, or F irm- Fleit & Jacobson [57]ABSTRACT An apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on a workpiecesurface wherein biting cuttersare mounted on a swingable surface andbrought into biting engagement with said surface upon each swingingmovement of the arm. The projection formed workpiece surface may bethereafter used for casting another metal thereon.

8 Claims, 7 e inefisl fi P'mtime'u m Y 3.862.581

SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG.2 7 IO 7 FIG.4

APPARATUS FOR FORMING THORN-LIKE PROJECTIONS The present inventionrelates to an apparatus for forming a thorny surface and moreparticularly to an apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on ametal surface.

In an application where chromium is to be plated on an aluminum alloysurface, there has been proposed first to cast aluminum on one side of ametal plate such as a steel plate to form an integral part therewith andthen form a chromium plated layer on the other side of the metal plate.In order to secure satisfactory bonding between the metal plate and thecasted aluminum alloy, it has already been proposed to provide aplurality of thorn-like projections on the side of the metal plate onwhich the aluminum alloy is casted.

Conventionally, such projections have been provided by spring-biasedbiting means. A rotatable cam is provided for moving the biting meansagainst the influence of the spring-bias force apart from the metalsurface and, as the cam is rotated, the biting means is cyclicallyallowed to bite into the metal surface. In this apparatus, however,since the biting means is brought into biting engagement under thespring-bias force, it is often damaged and moreover when the bitingedges are worn it becomes no longer possible to form desired thornlikeprojections uniformly throughout the metal surface.

The present invention, therefore, has an object to eliminate theaforementioned problems of known apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus forforming thorn-like projections on a workpiece surface, which is durableand can effectively form uniform projections.

According to the present invention, the above and other objects can beachieved by an apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on a surfaceof a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a stationary frame having awork supporting platform, first swingable arm means having one endpivotably supported on said frame, said first arm means having surfacemeans confronting to said platform, second swingable arm means pivotablysupported'on' said frame and having biting cutter means provided onlower side thereof, means for biasing said second arm means upwardlywith respect to said first arm means, vertically movable actuating meansdisposed above said first and second arm means, and linkage means'fortransferring downward movement of the actuating means to said first andsecond arm means whereby when the actuating means is moved downwardlythe surface means of the first arm means is brought into holdingengagement with a workpiece on said platform and thereafter upon furtherdownward movement of the actuating means said second arm means is swungto bring the biting cutter means into biting engagement with theworkpiece. In a preferred mode, a pair of first swingable arms aredisposed at the opposite sides of the frame and a second swingable armis provided between said first arms. The linkage means may comprise avertical link having a lower end pivotably connected to said first armat a position remote from the pivotably supported end of the first arm,a horizontal link connected at one end with the upper end of thevertical link and the other end with said second arm, and a third linkextending between the actuating means and the intermediate portion ofthe horizontal link. Preferably, the biting cutter means comprises aplurality of biting edges which are disposed in two rows, the edges inone of the rows being longer than those in the other row. Further, thetwo rows of biting edges are preferably arranged in a staggeredrelationship with each other. The apparatus of the present invention isparticularly suitable for forming thorn-like projections on a metalsurface but it may be used for other kinds of workpieces.

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following descriptions of preferred embodimentstaking reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a thorn-like projection forming apparatus inaccordance with one embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line IIII inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of biting cutter used in the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the biting cutter shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5(a), (b) and (c) show the biting action of the cutter.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there isshown an apparatus including a frame 1 which has a workpiece holdingplatform 2 on which a workpiece W such as a steel sheet is advanced inthe direction shown by an arrow A. A pair of brackets 3 are disposed atthe opposite sides of the frame 1 and secured thereto by means of aplurality of bolts 4. The brackets 3 support a transversely extendingshaft 5 on which a swingable arm 11 is rotatably mounted through abearing 6. A pair of swingable arms 7 are mounted one on each side ofthe frame with one end pivotably supported by a shaft 8 through abearing 9. Each of the arms 7 has a slot 10 which allows the shaft 5 topass there-through, and extends over the platform 2 to define anextension 7a.

Above the platform 2, there is provided a vertically movable actuatingmember R which may be a movable element of a pressing machine (notshown). A link 13 is connected at its upper end with the actuatingmember R through a pin 12 and bearing 20 and at its lower end withintermediate portion of a horizontal link 14 through a pin 15 and abearing 21. The horizontal link 14 has one end connected with the freeend of the swingable arm 11 through a pin 16 and a bearing 22, and theother end with the upper end of a vertical link 17 through a pin 18 anda bearing 23. The other end of the vertical link 17 is connected to theswingable arm 7 at its extension 7a.

The actuating member R carries a bracket 25 which has a bearing 26mounted thereon for slidably receiving a vertical guide rod 28 andpermitting pivotal movement of the rod 28 in the plane of the sheet ofdrawing. The guide rod 28 has a lower end carried on the swingable arm 7at its free end through abearing 27 which allows pivotal movement of therod 28 in the plane of the sheet of drawing. A compression spring S isdisposed between the bearings 26 and 27 so as to force the bearings 26and 27 apart from each other whereby the free end of the swingable arm11 normally biased upwardly.

At the lower side of the arm 11, there is mounted by means of bolts 38,a biting cutter 29 including two rows of biting edges 30 and 31 whichare respectively separated by grooves 32 and 33. As shown in FIG. 3, thebiting edges 30 and 31 are arranged in staggered relationship with eachother. Further, in order to securely hold the cutter 29 in place, aholding member 36 is mounted on the arm 11 by means of a bolt 39. FromFIGS. 1 and 4, it will be seen that the distances from the center ofswinging movement of the arm 11 and the biting edges 30 and 31 aredifferent from each other. The arms 7 carries at its lower side adepressing plate 40 which is mounted thereon by a plurality of pins 42at a position confronting to said platform 1, and the platform 1 isprovided with a platen 41 which cooperates with the plate 40.

In operation, when the actuating member R is moved downwardly, the arms7 is swung about the shafts 8 downwardly until the depressing plate 40engages with the workpiece W on the platen 41 so as to securely hold theworkpiece therebetween. As the actuating member R is further moveddownwardly, the horizontal link 14 is swung counterclockwise and thusthe arm 11 is swung clockwise. Thus, as shown in FIG. (a), the bitingedges 30 are brought into biting engagement with the workpiece W toproduce thornlike projections T Upon further movement of the actuatingmember, the biting edges 31 come into biting engagement with theworkpiece W as shown in FIG. 5 to produce thorn-like projections TThereafter, the actuating member R is moved upwardly, the workpiece W isadvanced, and the operation cycle is repeated. It is to be noted thataccording to the illustrated structure, the projections T, may bedirected in somewhat different directions from the projections. Further,in the illustrated arrangement, since the biting edges 30 and 31 aredisposed in staggered relationship, the thorn-like projections T, and Tare also formed in similar positional relationship. This will provide anadvantage in that, when the workpiece W is a metal plate on whichanother metal is casted, uniform bonding strength can be assured betweenthe workpiece and the casted metal in all directions along the workpiecesurface.

According to the arrangement of the present invention, the biting thrustof the biting edges is substantially proportional to the holding effectapplied by the depressing member to the workpiece so that the bitingcutter can be used without trouble even when the biting edges are wornto some extent.

The invention has thus been shown and described with reference to aspecific embodiment, however, it should be noted that the invention isnot limited to the details of the illustrated embodiment but changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims.

We claim:

I. An apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on a surfact of aworkpiece, said apparatus comprising a stationary frame having a worksupporting platform, first swingable arm means having one end pivotablysupported on said frame, said first arm means having surface meansconfronting to said platform, second swingable arm means pivotablysupported on said frame and having biting cutter means provided on lowerside thereof, means for biasing said second arm means upwardly withrespect to said first arm means, vertically movable actuating meansdisposed above said first and second arm means, and linkage means fortransferring downward movement of the actuating means to said first andsecond arm means whereby when the actuating means is moved downwardlythe surface means of the first arm means is brought into holdingengagement with a workpiece on said platform and thereafter upon furtherdownward movement of the actuating means said second arm means is swungto bring the biting cutter means into biting engagement with theworkpiece.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said first arm meansincludes a pair of first swingable arms disposed one at each side of theframe and said second swingable arm means includes a second arm disposedbetween said pair of first arms.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which a plate member iscarried by said first arms to provide said surface means.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which a platen member isprovided on the platform for cooperation with said plate member on thefirst arms.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said linkage meanscomprises a vertical link having a lower end pivotably connected to saidfirst arm means at a position remote from said one end thereof, ahorizontal link connected at one end with upper end of the vertical linkand the other end with said second arm means, and a third link extendingbetween the actuating means and an intermediate portion of thehorizontal link.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said biasing meansincludes a compression spring extending between said first arm means andsaid actuating means.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said biting cuttermeans comprises a plurality of biting edges which are disposed in tworows, the edges in one of the rows being disposed far from the center ofswinging movement of said second arm means than those in the other rowso that the edges in the rows are brought into biting engagement insequence.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which said two rows of bitingedges are arranged in a staggered relationship with each other. i n: a

1. An apparatus for forming thorn-like projections on a surfact of a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a stationary frame having a work supporting platform, first swingable arm means having one end pivotably supported on said frame, said first arm means having surface means confronting to said platform, second swingable arm means pivotably supported on said frame and having biting cutter means provided on lower side thereof, means for biasing said second arm means upwardly with respect to said first arm means, vertically movable actuating means disposed above said first and second arm means, and linkage means for transferring downward movement of the actuating means to said first and second arm means whereby when the actuating means is moved downwardly the surface means of the first arm means is brought into holding engagement with a workpiece on said platform and thereafter upon further downward movement of the actuating means said second arm means is swung to bring the biting cutter means into biting engagement with the workpiece.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said first arm means includes a pair of first swingable arms disposed one at each side of the frame and said second swingable arm means includes a second arm disposed between said pair of first arms.
 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which a plate member is carried by said first arms to provide said surface means.
 4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which a platen member is provided on the platform for co-operation with said plate member on the first arms.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said linkage means comprises a vertical link having a lower end pivotably connected to said first arm means at a position remote from said one end thereof, a horizontal link connected at one end with upper end of the vertical link and the other end with said second arm means, and a third link extending between the actuating means and an intermediate portion of the horizontal link.
 6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said biasing means includes a compression spring extending between said first arm means and said actuating means.
 7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said biting cutter means comprises a plurality of biting edges which are disposed in two rows, the edges in one of the rows being disposed far from the center of swinging movement of said second arm means than those in the other row so that the edges in the rows are brought into biting engagement in sequence.
 8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which said two rows of biting edges are arranged in a staggered relationship with each other. 